We’re coming up on the 19th annual beer tasting at the annual fall Consortium conference, Thursday October 6th, @ 7:00 PM. This year the Conference and the tasting are being held at the Civic Center in St Cloud. The tasting regularly draws 200+ people. Six to eight commercial breweries donate beer (Minnesota only), and a number of home brewers donate beer and mead as well. Proceeds from the event go to the Consortium Scholarship Fund. We hit a new record of over $3,000 for the fund in 2010. Boreal Brewers members organize and run the tasting.

The objective of this evening is to have some fun tasting interesting beers, while networking with other GIS people. The tasting has been downplayed on the Consortium website, and is now referred to as the Thursday night networking event. This is an organized tasting event, where designated pourers move among tables and serve each beer, and about two ounces of each style is served per person. Beers are served in order of flavor, beginning with the lightest, and ending with the darkest so your taste buds can acclimate. Food and homemade root beer and cream soda are also available, and we’ll have a special table for sampling mead, or honey wine.

If you are a homebrewer planning to donate, please contact Steve @ spbevets@hotmail.com ASAP so we can plan on your beer being there, and work it into the correct tasting position.